Ex-Portlander prepares to host royals William and Kate as mayor of Cambridge

Sheila Stuart grew up in Salem, went to the University of Oregon and worked in Portland before moving to Cambridge, England, two decades ago. She's now mayor, and wears full regalia on official duties.Warren Gunn/Cambridge News

Not so many years ago, she was a post-college intern scurrying through the hallways of the Oregon Capitol.

Today, she's the mayor of Cambridge, one of the most famous cities in England, and preparing to host a visit by the equally famous royal couple Prince William and his bride Kate.

The story of how Sheila Stuart went from a modest upbringing in Salem to an across-the-pond political career that has included more than one meeting with the queen, while not exactly storybook, is pretty darned enchanting.

"I've had so much more fun in my life than I ever thought possible," Stuart, 50, said during an exchange of international phone calls and emails with The Oregonian. "The journey was incredibly difficult and painful at times, but no regrets."

Let the record show that Stuart, whose last U.S. address was Portland two decades ago, didn't seek publicity -- a co-worker outed her with an email to the newspaper.

"Sheila is almost certainly the first US citizen to become mayor of any British city," wrote John Sutton, a Cambridge police officer, "but her innate modesty has prevented her mentioning the fact to any of the folks back home."

Indeed, a Google search turns up only some spotty media coverage from the early 1980s, when Stuart, then Sheila Schain, was active in student politics at the University of Oregon.

With a sigh of resignation and a mix of British reticence and Yankee candor, Stuart fills in the gaps. From Eugene, she moved back to Salem, where she had graduated from Sprague High School, to work with a number of Democratic legislators, including former Sens. Larry Hill and Margie Hendriksen.

Stuart, on a recent trip to Great Yarmouth, kicked off her shoes for a walk on the beach.David Johnson.Cambridge News

Deciding politics might not be her cup of tea, she moved to Portland -- "I had a very strange life in Portland," she said, without elaborating -- and got a job with Zygo Industries, which makes communication devices for people with disabilities.

Meanwhile, in England, a certain Toby Churchill had started a similar company, devising a communication device after a battle with encephalitis left him paralyzed and unable to speak. The two companies often did business with each other, and Stuart and Churchill started up a long-distance romance.

"He and I got very friendly by Fax," she said, with an accent that is understated but undeniably British. "He was very charming, He invited me to come to England to meet him in person."

So it was in November 1991, a few weeks shy of her 30th birthday, she left her first husband, her Salem family and her American life to move to Cambridge and an uncertain future. There, she quickly got involved in Churchill's company, became his main caregiver, married him, had a daughter and rarely looked back.

"Growing up, the mantra we had was 'take a chance,'" said her younger brother Brian Schain, who works for Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Group, in Portland. "Sheila is like that. She's never afraid to cut her own path."

Stuart became an English citizen and eventually divorced Churchill. She was living in the center of Cambridge, a quaint, close-knit college town of about 120,000, when a woman running for city council knocked on her door to drop off a leaflet.

That's how campaigns still work in England, Stuart says. Candidates get five weeks, and most of it is spent on the streets and in the neighborhoods. At the end of her visit, Stuart offered a cash donation.

"That's what an American would do," she said. The candidate had "never had anybody offer her money before."

Stuart became a volunteer and that led, inevitably it seems, to her running for the council in 2004 -- and winning on her first try. A year later, she married her third husband, Bruce Stuart.

In Cambridge, the council appoints the mayor for one-year stints. Sheila Stuart's first mayoral shift came in 2010. She sat out a year, then reluctantly agreed to a second go-round.

On the way she's been "presented to the queen twice," and met Prince Charles twice along with other royals. Later this month, the city will host the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for the first time since William and Kate's wedding.

When she goes out on official business, Stuart wears a massive gold, diamond-studded medallion known as the "mayoral chain" that dates to 1890. When she wears it, she must be accompanied by a bodyguard known as the Sergeant at Mace for the giant, bulbous staff he carries in case he ever has to thwack somebody.

Photos from the Cambridge News, the local paper, show her participating energetically in a range of civic events, from a BMX bike race to an exercise class.

"She's very highly regarded," said Paul Holland, news editor of the Cambridge paper. "She throws herself into it with a lot of passion."

Her American roots haven't been an issue, Holland said. "If anything, it's a positive. Cambridge is an international city."

For Stuart, being mayor is good when she can get out into the neighborhoods and do some good. The ceremonial stuff plays havoc with her home life and she won't miss it when it's over.

"Meeting the royal family is good fun," she said, "but it's not the bread and butter of what being the mayor is all about."